StandingWater Creations

Well, another year is done, not officially, at least not in Utah, and I guess it is time to reflect on what the past year has brought me.

Unofficially, this time last year I was engaged to Erin. That was exciting for me. What was more exciting was that eight months later we were married in the Manti Utah LDS temple.

Two weeks later Erin and I were officially engaged and the search for an appropriate ring that Erin liked was on.

I turned 33 and thought my life was coming to an end.

Now I am turning 34 and know it is irrevocably over. Guess that’s what happens when you hit your 30’s, married someone in their 20’s, and hang out with people who are barely old enough to drive, let alone attend college.

I did make it through the semester engaged to Erin, though, at the same time, I think it was the hardest semester I’ve been in school… not hard in the sense that the classes I were taking required more of me than I expected or thought was appropriate, but more in the sense that every free minute Erin and I had together was spent driving or … well, together. Which, in turn, caused some turmoil as to my getting classwork done in classes that needed work done in them.

Let’s see, we did get Erin a ring and found me a ring. Mine is interconnecting Odin’s knots or interconnecting Trinity knots that make a continual loop around my ring forever. It’s pretty cool. As for Erin’s ring, she ended up sitting down with the guy that sold us the rings and designed one that matched her personality, to include a wedding band. When we picked them up, she insisted on wearing the wedding band with her ring because, together, they were all nice and shiny.

Shiny.

We took a class together, it is known, far and wide, as the dreaded science class. Neither of us really enjoyed the experience, which was a poo, but in the end we both got A’s, though Erin’s A was of a greater quality than my A. Still, it was satisfying.

On top of that, at the beginning of the Fall semester we both got new computers. Erin got herself an HP notebook with Vista. We hate Vista. I purchased a new Macbook. I’ve grown to really love the Macbook. More, we are considering ditching PC’s forever and moving in the direction of the Mac as Erin’s graduate work will (most likely) require the purchase of software and it would be cheaper in the long run to buy software for one platform than for multiple.

PLUS, Mac’s are just so cool.

I’m a convert to Macdom.

Let’s see, this year I quit working for the professor/dean on campus, did some freelance work for another professor writing television scripts (got to see the first one mostly finished not too long ago) and then went to work for the company I am working at now. After working here for nearly 8 months, I got Jordan a job here too. That was cool.

On the flipside of that, Erin has been working for a small company where the primary partners are writing a book. She was brought on to edit. Does some writing. And was offered a full-time salaried position as the semester was ending and the Christmas holiday’s beginning. So, she will be working full-time for the man. Exciting.

I, however, am moving backward in the number of hours I am working and taking an extra day off. Yes, I know, I am lazy. It’s true. OR, school is more important than work, at the moment, and I can finish by this time next year so long as I focus on school more than work.

With that, Erin has finished attending BYU and is scheduled to be a graduate by April. That is exciting. She was accepted into a Master’s of Communication course at Westminster College. Even more exciting. And is now trying to decide if this is the next course of action or if she wants to follow a different track. I am encouraging this for now, and deciding later what she wants/needs to be doing.

I did start writing the first Alicia Grey novel. That’s been exciting. Had a goal, failed at the goal, but don’t feel bad about failing as, in the interim, I discovered that there were some things that needed to be decided before I worked forward with the story.

I also discovered Cassandra West and a few other things that I hope to work through in the coming year. More information when things happen (though I will probably forward you all to In Order to Write for the more information).

In August, mostly to repeat, Erin and I got married. We then went to Maine where we spent several wonderful days in a bed and breakfast, before returning to Massachusetts and having a ring ceremony where I was finally able to meet her friends and her extended family. It was very cool. Mom and Dad came out along with Rebecca, Keith, and co. (co is her two boys). Mom and Dad drove Erin’s brother’s car back to Utah for him. He flew.

At one point, Erin and I were going to drive back on the last leg of our honeymoon. Fortunately, it worked out for everyone.

Erin’s brother came out in May to spend the summer with Erin. After being out here, he decided it was somewhere he wanted to live, he enjoyed his job, and as a result has been living out here since. We’ve enjoyed having him in Utah.

Since we both took the summer off from school, we had to hit it hard with the new school year. I worked nearly full-time. Erin worked part-time at her company and finished her undergraduate degree. We also made a movie for one of her classes and, if the actors will allow it, may post it… though I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

Uhm… mostly the year has been about getting to know Erin better, learn to communicate, learn that sometimes we just don’t communicate, and to work toward different goals.

We both had some of the same insights as to what I might need to pursue in the future, education-wise and work-wise, and Erin has been extremely helpful and encouraging when it comes to writing fiction. I guess it helps that she was able to sit down and read some of my stuff and… *shudder*… it might’ve actually been good.

That’s it. 2007 has been a good year. We are looking forward to 2008. And looking forward to finishing at BYU, moving on to other things, and figuring life (together) out.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I will not be updating until next week. I want a break from blogging.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are actually twelve days of Christmas. The last day of Christmas is January 6th. Count back 12 days from that, and you have the first day of Christmas. I would imagine, for those that don’t want to count backward, that the first day of Christmas is December 24th. Didn’t know there was something behind the whole 12 Days of Christmas song did you?

I am sure some did.

On the first day of my four day Christmas (okay, it actually does not start until tomorrow), I received a gift of an A- in the dreaded science class. When I calculated the weight of the class against the possible scores in the class I’d (allegedly) earned a low B. However, I am sure the class had a slight curve or I did slightly better than I thought I did and the outcome is an A-. I have to admit, the grade makes up for a lot of crapolla.

Erin got an A.

Erin’s parents made it into town. They left for the airport from their house early this morning. That was fun. Erin and I (two hours earlier) were still awake and I jumped when her phone started singing her mom’s song. I looked at the phone and asked, “Is anything wrong,” thinking it was actually her brother and forgetting that his ring is very different from her mother’s ring. I don’t know what her dad’s ring sounds like, at all. I also don’t remember what my ring is. It used to be Sting’s Englishman in New York, but I think it’s been changed a few times since then.

Actually, this morning I got up after about four hours of sleep (and no, I have no idea how I am still going once the caffeine pill I took wore off) to meet with Jordan so we could go and get him some software. I am a student. Software is cheapest for students. Go figure.

He was late. Said he miscalculated what it would take him to run errands by not accounting for snow.

It snowed last night.

Not the really cool, soft fluffy, what Utah is known for snow; but hard, ice crystal, sticks to everything and creates a mini-glacier in the driveway kind of snow. Not a lot of accumulation; and at the same time, something I still got to shovel to get Erin’s car out of the driveway. We wanted to get the oil changed and her tires rotated today.
ErinErin decided to come out and do some shoveling. I gave her my coat gloves (not very thick) and then watched as she finished up the shoveling on the driveway I hadn’t gotten to. At that point (or thereabouts) Jordan showed up, Erin went to Costco to buy “stuff” (to include ice salt for the driveway and walkway to our door) while Jordan and I took off for BYU.

We met up with James. Erin bought salt, 2 oz cups for me on Sundays (12,000 which if you take the sacrament 48 times a year equates to exactly 250 years… in case you were curious how long it would take me to go through these cups with our primary purpose in mind) while James, Jordan and I bought software, looked at computers, and then ate some lunch.

Then Jordan and I went back to my house, installed some of the software on my computer (macbook) transferred data back onto my external hard drive from his (he loaned his to me for this purpose) after I formatted my hard drive to speak to my computer.

Jordan watched Back to the Future – a movie, incidentally, that Erin has never seen. Jordan laughed. Erin looked like she was enjoying herself. She shared that she’d not seen these movies before marriage, Casablanca, or the Indiana Jones movies. Now that I’ve gotten to know her a lot better, I can understand this, but still… it’s shocking to me when I think about it.

Once upon a time I had some requirements for marriage. There was a list of movies:

1. Casablanca
Back to the Future trilogy
2. Ronin
3. Grosse Pointe Blank
4. High Fidelity
5. Rear Window
6. and etc.

The list actually goes on. I was aghast that Erin hadn’t seen the movies I thought were important. Moreover, I have a list of books I want people to read as well. She has not read many of them; but then, I don’t force books on people so much. We still fit together.

Over the past couple of weeks, though, we’ve been reading Y/A books. Young adult for the uninitiated. I read The Golden Compass which, apparently, Jordan not only read but also the entire series. I liked the book. He wanted to discuss protagonists (what have I gotten myself into by introducing this kid to actual terms and what they really mean???), whereas, I was interested in Lyra and ice bears and the adventure. Erin (I think) started the book today.

Today, I picked up the copy of Coraline we bought a week or so ago. She read that.

Last week she also read Bras and Broomsticks which was nice. Apparently (and I recall thinking this when I first read the book) the first chapter is less than dross. It should’ve been dropped from the book altogether.

Anyway, I did fix In Order to Write. So, no more of that terrible Flash animation. Wow. All that work only to have me deride my own creation. What am I coming to?

I still have Frogs and French Kisses to read and Richard Aleas’s book that I started reading and tossed aside when I picked up John Zakour’s latest book The Blue-Haired Bombshell. Outside of that, the reading is going well and the writing is okay. More details (hopefully) in the next couple of days over at IOTW.

Beyond that, I expect that I will be updating over the next few days. There are some topics I want to cover. Who knows?

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 8:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had the misfortune, yesterday, of reading a blog by Ann Coulter. I know there are a lot of people in the United States that think she is a great face for the conservative right, the extremist end of the Republican Party, and I agree, she is an attractive woman that can write, speaks well, and looks good on camera; but I also fall into the category (opinion-wise) where I think if you dress a pig up in silk, it’s still a pig and the silk is going to be ruined.

Why do I think this?

Well, I think it goes along with Rush Limbaugh. As a teenager this man said a lot of things that the people around me were saying. He would decry the president (when I started listening it was Clinton) and would tell everyone everything the President was doing wrong. After a while it got tiring to listen to Rush and, eventually, I just turned off the radio and stopped tuning in when his radio program was on.

He lost weight.

He became addicted to oxycotin.

At some point, I realized he was a blow-hard that really was just talking to be heard and did, or could do, very little to change the course of the American political machine. He is exactly what he presents himself to be, a showman, and very little else. He just happened to become famous for what he had to say.

Rush Limbaugh, for whatever reason, is no longer applicable to our American way of life.

I have also had opportunity to listen to individuals who work in the opposite extreme. I am, very deeply, opposed to the bleeding-heart agenda as well. I think there are middle ground between the two opposite extremes and I think that when someone who makes their money from speaking their political mind makes more money for speaking that mind, they often lose sight of what it was that made them famous – as do their fans.

Ann Coulter is the female equivalent of Rush Limbaugh for a new generation of extremely conservative American’s. Except, she’s attractive and thin.

Ann Coulter also represents what is currently wrong with the present administration.

What is wrong with the current administration?

G.W. is so sure that what he is doing is correct, that the course of action he has promoted is the right one for this country, that he ignores anything that might suggest that he is wrong.

The very reason the conservative portion of this nation disliked Clinton is the reason the liberal portion of the nation dislikes G.W. He has set a course. He is unapologetic about that course. And his critics be damned, he is going to follow his heart and take the rest of the nation with him.

When we voted for G.W., honestly, we were expecting to hire a President who had a Christian ethic and a track record of working across party lines to get things done. For the first bit of the presidency, prior to 9/11, he did that pretty well. And then came the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 over Pennsylvania and suddenly, G.W. had a mandate from the people that gave him the Executive Power to move away from bi-partisan politics and to lead the charge on a very partisan policy.

And with G.W.’s rise to power we also have his cheerleader, Ann Coulter, rising to prominence in the media. Here comes this attractive blonde who tells the conservative United States what it wants to hear. Who does not pause or back down. Who does and says what she wants and expects everyone to take her seriously.

The flaw in this, though, is that Coulter rose to power with G.W. and she will fall with him as well. I might try to get to that later.

Specifically, Coulter’s agenda is anti-liberal. It is anti-ignorance… or more specifically, it is anti-perceived ignorance. She is not anti-ignorance, Coulter is anti-percieved ignorance. She is literally the Tin Man (Woman in this case) where the Wizard grants her a diploma and she suddenly has something to say. In this case, though, it would appear the need to promote G.W.’s agenda (as well as a rather anti-science agenda… go figure) and she now has the authority to speak her mind.

Coulter has a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelors in Arts from Cornell University School of Arts & Sciences. She is an educated woman.

I can deal with the uber right wing and the uber left wing. I can even deal with the less-than-intelligent who want to be considered intelligent. However, what I cannot deal with is people who, in the face of overwhelming evidence, speak in direct opposition to what is being presented.

The instrument at hand is Coulter’s arguments against Evolution. Simply, she doesn’t believe in it and counters that Darwin’s theories have been proven wrong.

Here’s my problem: Darwin had a theory. A theory is an explanation of viewable events with an explanation of how they happened and what outcomes can be expected. Theory is not fact nor is it a law. When Newton wrote his laws they were theories. Science has sufficiently proven Newton and as a result we speak of his multiple laws.

However, science cannot prove Darwin. It is impossible. To be able to do that we would have to travel back in time and see what the changes that took place for the world over time.

I agree with a lot of skeptics of Darwin insofar as I cannot accept that Darwin’s theories are provable to the extent that his theories become law. However, as for his theories on adaptation by a species to its environment, his theories are as close to law as they can get. We can observe adaptation not only of animals and plants to new environments, but also people within given environments over time. Moreover, science can point out that in colder climates people are often smaller, while during warming spells (we are in one) the population grows in height. We can observe adaptation. Moreover, we can observe co-evolution. And we can encourage adaptation (e.g. evolution) in species of insects that have shorter life cycles.

Moreover, you can see a skeletal lifecycle from pre-homo erectus to current homo sapien. Amazingly enough, none of these skeletons, and none of this information, flies in the face of my religious beliefs or faith. Interestingly enough, we, as children of God, are commanded to learn as much as we can about the world around us. Some are interested in science, others in nature, others in politics, others in writing, others into law, and etc. We get to constantly learn, observe, and make our own judgments.

What I have found interesting, though, is that the evidence that has been presented (to me) by one of these men of science is sufficient to indicate that modern man might be an offshoot of the offspring of homo erectus.

The only thing we do know is that we don’t know how God created the heavens and the earth. To disregard the notion that he didn’t seed the planet and let it move in different directions, influencing animal and plant life and growth over time is to say that we know God intimately as well as his methods, arts, practices, and his mind. We, that means every single person on this planet, do not know how God created the earth and everything on it. Nor do we know how man was created.

The bible is rather Spartan about that description. The King James version calls the creative periods days. Other translations go to creative periods. Over a series of creative periods, the time of each one we don’t know, he created different aspects of the planet.

The evidence does not support a stringent Christian view of the creation of the world. More, Christian's, who are supposed to be a faith-loving people, should know that God does not give them all of the information.

We don’t know.

What evidence does is suggest what might have happened. Circumstantial evidence is sufficient to convict a criminal. In order to do that, though, the prosecutor has to have a theory. Theories can be based off of evidence, sometimes evidence is collected as a result of the theory. But in either case, it is up to professionals, lawyers, and judges to interpret that evidence. Evolution is a process of circumstantial evidence.

The evidence that exists suggests that homo sapien is an evolutionary offspring of homo erectus. That is interpretation of evidence. This is not interpretation of facts, this does not make Darwin some kind of a prophet, it is interpretation of evidence.

Do I believe science when they speak in terms of millions of years? No. And part of the reason for my disbelief is because scientists will also tell you that certain conditions have to have applied when the sample was laid down for their methods to work. There is no way too convincingly (for me) proving that the conditions existed, and as a result, I am always prone to ask, “What else can explain the geological or biological evidence?”

I want my religious view of the world to be the only view I can accept, and yet, I cannot accept that.

Ann Coulter is so set in her ways, she is Bush’s bulldog in such a way that she refuses to see there are other possibilities in the world. Admitting to another possibility is death in the political extreme environment. Her admitting the possibility of evolution is akin to AlGore admitting that global warming isn’t man made.

The problem with the religious view on creation is that it is not testable. That is why it is not taught, or wanted to be taught, in schools. What science is about (even if they are often wrong) is the ability to test a current theory or hypothesis. That’s it. Evolution is testable, Creation theory is not.

At present, with the information I currently have, I will go with an answer on Creation that includes God presiding over Evolution.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I finished my last final for this semester today. I think, when all the cards drop, I will get an “A” in the class. There is a possibility that I will get a “B” but I think that is the lowest the grade will go. Not sure what to expect from the dreaded science class and I believe I will garner an “A” out of the creative writing class. So, semester done.

What this means is that I have 12 more months and I am done with BYU.

This turned out to be an interesting semester. I took some classes that I thought I would like and show up to all of the time, and a class that I thought I would love, and ended up loving the class I thought I would (at best) like, and hating the class I thought I would love.

On top of that, the last several months has been lessons in learning to live with someone else. Not just live but share a bed, share a bathroom, share space and time and a lot of other things. It’s been a good four months and a hard four months. And yet, I think Erin and I made it through pretty well.

Throw into that mix the number of hours a week I’ve been working on top of school, on top of being newly married, and on top of everything else I’ve been trying to do, and I am surprised that this semester has flown by. It’s been rather rewarding, actually.

I started Alicia Grey and my instincts tell me that I need to slow down on this story and become more comfortable with the slog through it.

I have been writing Cassandra West stories and my gut tells me this needs to be something I work on a bit more.

I’ve been working through In Order to Write, and I am planning some additional changes to the application and look of the site.

Going back to Alicia Grey, though, I have found that I am dealing with how to deal with her first days in a new school. Not that I don’t have some ideas, merely that I think some issues need to be resolved before I start putting her (and co.) in situations that surround the area they are in and deal with the people at the school and community. What this means, really, is that I want to take some time to think about what I’ve currently written. It would be nice if I didn’t have to, if I could just say, “The book will be 90,000 words long and don’t worry about the structure,” but truth told, I feel that the structure is important. It is important.

On the flipside of Alicia is Cassandra. I’ve discovered, by working through some pieces that I thought were short fiction (and really are) that the connections between the stories are such that I can’t expect to submit them separately. They are an all together or not at all kind of series of stores. What it does do is make writing Cassandra West a little different, weird. I mean, she’s a girl ripped out of her body and home and placed in the Old West and then made to be an adult, a grown-up. Each mis-adventure has her connecting back to that initial action, as well as events that transpired before she ended up outside of El Paso.

There are good guys and bad guys.

In my head I see each adventure being a new chapter, of sorts. Maybe not. And yet, after writing the Darwin episode, it occurred to me that there was a rather coherent connection that required something more than I was (initially) planning for this story.

Moreover, between Alicia and Cassandra, I am finding myself learning some aspects to fiction that I really need to write about at IOTW. It will come. As the stress of the last several days to two weeks dies down, I will write more over there.

Which really leads to, I think I need to leave IOTW with the flash animation up for another 24 hours. Sad? Yes, I know. But, at the same time I want to make sure that the professor has a good chance to see it.

That’s about it. If I think about it, tomorrow I write about how Anne Coulter is an idiot… and I am not at all in line with the political left in this country.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 9:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I sleep through Erin leaving in the mornings. Well, most mornings. That doesn’t mean I am not aware that she is not in bed with me anymore or that she’s not moving around the apartment; it does mean that I am not really aware of all that is happening. For example, this morning, it was noted that the moment Erin got out of bed I stole one of her pillows and was snuggling up next to it.

When this was pointed out to me I said, “At least I didn’t steal it while you were sleeping,” though I also have to admit, I have stolen them while she’s slept too.

The point, though, is that Erin leaves and I roll over and go back to sleep. Today, I slept until the phone rang and I had to answer it. It was someone asking whether or not I’d cashed a check. I told them since the wedding I’d moved and they asked for the new address and told me they’d resend the check. Interesting.

Then Erin called.

At this point I was awake, kinda hard to go back to bed when people call you every two or three seconds. I was showered, and trying to figure out what came next.

What came next consisted of me and my car driving all over Katmandu trying to find a box that would work for the present I bought for Erin yesterday. I ended up at the post office and got one of their boxes. It was frustrating.

At the same time, though, I also ended up with ribbon (brown to go with the brown paper Erin’s packages are wrapped in) and a new ornament, a big fat bear fishing out of the back of a boat that I totally felt needed to go on our tree.

I also stopped by Borders and acquired (legally) a copy of Stardust, which was a good movie and the last one (prior to The Golden Compass) Erin and I saw in the movie theatre.

I did wander around the store and looked at some books and other items, but ended up only being able to convince myself to buy Stardust before I made my way home.

What I thought was interesting, about today, were two things:

First, the stores were very busy. It didn’t matter where I went, there were crowds. You’d think that Hogswatch was tomorrow or something.

Second, I watched a small portion of The View and noted that their guest today, Denis Leary, came on, acted embarrassed and pleased, and then proceeded to talk about Rush Limbaugh (a man I am not fond of) and how he liked listening to him because Rush reinforced (by being wrong) everything Leary believed (e.g. the opposite of Rush).

What occurred to me was that I realized Rush Limbaugh is a man for young conservatives and super right wing members of the party. He has a lot to say, he says it, he doesn’t apologize, and I am glad that part of my life is far behind me.

Moreover, it also occurred to me that Leary was saying exactly what people wanted to hear from him. Specifically, we need a woman or black president, and hallelujah if you get both at once, because white, Anglo-Saxon, men have screwed up the country. However, at that point I also realized that even though Leary is a celebrity and he has a big mouth (which is what he is well known for, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about and was given sound bytes so he didn’t sound like an idiot. He sounded like an idiot. Especially when he had to say, “I will be careful about what I say because you’re on in the morning.”

One more thing occurred to me (not really related to the above two):

I want to be a guest on The View and hope it sticks around long enough that I get to do that.

Sorry mom, but Oprah just doesn’t do it for me. Don’t know what “it” is, in this context, but if I had to choose between the two, The View has my attention.

I didn’t watch it for very long because I felt that I had a finite amount of time to find a box, buy a movie, wrap a present, and then put together a flash presentation.

With that said, I apologize, but for now In Order to Write has a flash presentation. Check it out (once) but after that, go to this link for the next … oh, lets say… hrm, 36 hours. I should be removing the page I inserted for the professional communications class after that. It’s for a grade people.

Anyway, in the morning I need to finish putting together a PowerPoint presentation and an Executive Summary for the semester and then I am off. Off to the next great adventure (also known as next semester).

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congratulations to Erin today. She got a call and was accepted into Westminster College in a Master's program. I believe it is Communications and her emphasis will be in Professional Communications and Editing.

Congratulations Erin.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Actually, it’s two finals gone. I didn’t have to attend one of the two finals. That makes for a fun day. And, on top of that, I got in “A” in the class for which I did not have to attend the final. Makes for a loverly day – if’n you ask me.

The final that we took (we meaning Erin and I) was the dreaded science class. The professor teaching this leg of the class posted (online) a practice exam. Erin and I spent, pretty much, all day yesterday minus three hours for church and about an hour for tithing settlement, studying for the exam. Her other exam (today) sounded like it went well, she presented on a paper she wrote for her final.

I got to school to talk to some people, an hour or so earlier than normal, and ended up waiting outside of her class until the final was over.

I’ve been reading The Golden Compass and after yesterday’s marathon study session with all things biological science (and a book that I’ve come to loathe), I decided that let the cards fall where they would. Went to class, and the test was passed out. Immediately, the kids in the class (pretty much minus Erin and me), started asking questions, whether they could use notes, etc.

After the test started, the noise continued. Understandably, the professor allowed it to go on until leaning boy started complaining about making a mistake on his final. We were given scratch cards that would tell us, immediately, how we did on the multiple guess section of the test. He wasn’t paying attention and wanted to change his answer. He started to get loud. The professor said, “Move on.”

Several seconds later I said, “This is an opportunity for you to act like an adult, accept what you’ve done, and move on to the next question.”

He shut up. However, much quieter, ever few minutes he would get up, exam in hand, and ask additional questions about the questions and answers. Honestly, I was expecting this behavior from polygamist chick, but Erin tells me this guy is rather annoying and, not surprisingly, complained as often as he felt it necessary.

He asked, “You’re already done?” when I took my test to the front.

I looked at him and said, in my growl voice that carries, “It’s just a test. Of course.”

At that point I wanted to talk to the professor. No love lost there, but when a test is fair, the material provided actually prepares you for the final, and it is proctored in a way that I don’t feel trapped; then it is worth say, “Congratulations,” on.

I have learned, from professors, that someone of my age is better able to critique tests, assignments, and the class with both positive and negative results (for the class) paid more attention to. In this case, even though he (the professor) and I haven’t always gotten on, I did want him to know that I thought his test was good, fair, the study material (and subject matter) matched what he’d tried to teach, and that so long as one prepared, you shouldn’t expect any surprises.

Which is why, as I was taking the test, people complaining and claiming things were confusing or intentional ambiguous, I thought, “Shut up and take the test.”

I am sure that probably came out in my attitude.

I am also very happy that Erin was the second one done.

AND I got an “A” on the What Evolution is Not paper he had us write. I am thinking of posting (just that portion) over at In Order to Write. Guess I will have to decide whether or not that is worth my time and effort. It probably is. I like the story. It is something I think I would’ve enjoyed when I was a fanatic reader of fantasy fiction.

Beyond that, and spending more hours than I care to admit to studying, I think the semester is done. I do have to create a presentation tomorrow and finish a flash animation, but those are things I think I can work through relatively quickly during the day before coming back to work. Other than that, Wednesday is the last final I have, Erin has a couple more she needs to take and then we are done for the year. She is going into the working world full-time and I am looking at 12 months of straight school to get done by this time next year.

I can see the end, though, when I am in the middle of the next semester and ready to pull out my hair, I might not be so enthusiastic.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 8:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By stating that, I, invariably, write an update.

Not a lot has happened today and I don't feel like just writing for the sake of writing. And yes, I've done that today as well.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Short entry today.

I turned in my last assignment for the semester. Felt good. Took me most of the day, when I didn't want to get out of bed and still want to be there.

I have been focused on work. Erin got offered a full-time position with her company.

Updated In Order to Write today. It has my review of The Blue-Haired Bombshell by John Zakour. Wait and I will announce more.

Other than all that. I am good.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I did not update yesterday.

That does not mean I did not try to update yesterday; but, between trying to finish a Flash presentation and work and... well... life, the idea of writing an updated and actually publishing it was a little more than I could handle.

However, today marks the last day of classes for this semester and barring any tragedies (etc.) I anticipate that I will be a graduate this time next year.

This does not mean that I don't have things that still need doing. Oh, there are things that still need doing. Like, I have to study for the final for the dreaded science class. I still have to put together and turn in a packet of material for my professional communications class along with creating a seven minute presentation for that class. All of these equals more enjoyment than any one individual need have in his or her life.

HOWEVER, with all of that said, Erin finishes her last class here in a little while, she is showing her movie iLove that she wrote and directed (I was the cinematographer, her brother and a girl from our ward acted in it... as did my computer (according to the credits)). I am hoping that goes well for her. She has a final, pretty much, for each class she is taking. And she still needs to focus on and finish the online class she is taking, but it would appear that her life is moving in the right direction for her to start a Master's Degree in the near future.

Along with all that, I have been learning some rudimentary information/knowledge of Adobe Flash. I have to say, that is a relatively fun program to learn and use. At least, I have had some fun with it. As I figure out more and learn more, the program seems to come to life (for me). Currently, I have an abbreviated version of the Flash animation I will have as a part of the final, turned in, project; however, I want to have images floating, moving really, across the background... and as I've thought about this, I think it would be interesting and nice to have colors change as they float across the background. With that said, I may go and find some examples of changing backgrounds online and see if I can implement them into In Order to Write.

To answer any lingering questions, no, I've not updated on Alicia Grey progress. The reason: I wrote in excess of 10,000 words on Saturday and only 200-ish of those were for Alicia. I had two other classes that needed my attention and they got it. With that stated, I am planning on ammeding my deadline to meet what I think is reasonable (and the end of this year... and the beginning of next year... and the new semester) and will update that site with the new goal.

Further, I have started (and need to finish) an entry on one of the books I've read of late The Blue-Haired Bombshell by John Zakour. That will be done over at In Order to Write. If I get the guts up, I may make a request of someone and report on what the request was and the outcome of the request. I haven't decided yet.

Jordan is in his first full week of answering phones. During his 8 hour shift, yesterday, he took a whopping number of calls. More than I normally did during 8 hour shifts. When I left, his number was at 53. That was cool. I knew Jordan would be an asset, and when he asked (me) questions they were the right questions to be asking (I hope my answers were the right ones to be giving), which leads me to believe that boy is going to fit in at the company very nicely.

I think I can stop worry (a little) now.

Well, for the most part, much of Christmas shopping has been done... at least, for those whom I plan to buy presents for. In truth, Erin and I have some more shopping to do for odds and ends and other sundry items; but the outcome is that we are moving (advancing) at a nice clip. I share this because I finished buying some people (on my life) their presents. Of course, in the process of that, I also purchased a stack of books.

The books are:

The Golden Compass by Philp Pullman
Frogs and French Kisses by Sarah Mlynowski
and Bras and Broomsticks also by Sarah Mlynowski

I am currently enjoying The Golden Compass and hope to see the movie based off of the book in the very near future. Had I had my druthers and it wasn't snowing and Erin had been feeling better, we would've seen it last week. We may splurge, a little, and see it as a matinee sometime this week. With that, the book is very enjoyable.

I read, a few years ago, Frogs and French Kisses and thought Erin would like it after she is done with her finals and the stress of end-o-semester. She wanted to start reading it yesterday. I was excited enough about the purchase I let slip that I had some secret books in the house (I have shelves and shelves and shelves and shelves of books for those that don't know... and we are planning on adding at least one more shelf in the next month or so) that Erin went searching for them.

I gave her a clue. I said, "Look for the two books that don't belong on the shelf they are sitting on." And off she went.

After a few minutes of searching, she came up with the books. I'd placed them, surreptitiously, on the fairy tale and mythology shelf where my Hans Christian Andersen and Grimm's books belonged, as well as others... and though they didn't "fit" in with the topic of what was there, I thought they looked nice and blended in unless you knew what that shelf was for.

Anyway, they are now sitting on a tall stack of books on the same shelf in the office.

Outside of all that, not been a lot interesting going on. Pretty much waking up, going to school or trying to complete projects around the house, going to work, then coming home spending a few minutes (awake) with Erin before we go to bed and then sleeping to start it all over again the next day. Erin pointed out, the other day, that our lives are about to go off in radically opposite directions as she is done with BYU and I still have another year left. What fun, what fun.

Changing tracks, and then I am done, I noted some time ago that my all time favorite author, and someone who has (although never directly) been an important part of my life and especially my writing life, Robert Jordan passed away. At that time, a community of fantasy fans mourned the loss of, perhaps, the most influential fantasy writer, hands down, in the genre since Tolkein. However, whether or not his series would be completed (The Wheel of Time) was never in question.

Since RJ announced that he had a disease that, at best, granted him about 5 years to live, I guessed he was grooming people to take over for him. My thoughts were toward his cousin/brother Wilson, I also considered that Harriet, his wife, might also lead the charge; however, as his widow and the person in charge of that series, Harriet has chosen author Brandon Sanderson to take over the reigns and finish the series.

I don't know what kind of a writer Sanderson is. I have heard good things about his fiction and his fantasy writing (not knowing his name, his books have a good reputation). I am excited and a little fearful of this finish, but I also know that with Harriet running the show, with RJ's notes, and with an established author who started reading the series at the same time I did, I think the last book, The Memory of Light, is probably in good hands.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 6:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I looked up listeriosis over the weekend. The reason, Erin likes to claim that she is at an increased risk of contracting this bacterial infection. Well, I think the real claim is that raw meat causes the transmission of listeriosis and as a result, having raw or undercooked meat (Erin defined undercooked, by the by) causing a potentially dangerous disease. What I learned from my looking is that there are 2500 reported cases of listeriosis with 500 associated deaths. The population of the United States is in excess of 256,000,000 people.

That gives people about a .00010% chance of contracting this horrible disease. Of the people that contract listeriosis 20% will die. Of the first number, if you are pregnant, you are 20 times more likely to contract listeriosis which gives you a .002% chance of contracting the disease from meats, poultry, fish, and etc.

In short, the likelihood of contracting listeriosis is almost non-existent. For more information on this disease please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/listeriosis_g.htm.

However, as is (sometimes) my luck, Erin will probably contract listeriosis in her life and this will prove that I should’ve been a bajillion times more careful around raw meats.

Numbers don’t convince people.

Erin and I went to listen (as a result of the dreaded science class) Dr. Daniel Robinson speak at the Faculty Forum today. He has been, in the past, a guest professor on campus. He currently teaches at Oxford (in England). He was born and raised in New York state.

His topic: Reasonably Faithful.

Okay, the title was slightly different. But the outcome was being a faith driving individual in a world where faith is not accepted… e.g. academia. He shared an example of a dinner he had where he was questioned on whether or not he believed in an intelligent design or in evolution. His answer, more or less, that evolution could happen through intelligent design.

He was, actually, interesting to listen to. His bio says he received a PhD in Psychology and teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Oxford University.

After his initial lecture, he did a question and answer period. Most of the questions came from students (it was a faculty forum) and consisted of trying to satisfy the demands of academics with being a spiritual person. What made him cool (and reverts to a conversation Erin and I have been having off and on for a while) is that he challenged the senior faculty at BYU to recruit people who would teach and challenge rather than individuals who have strong testimonies and a PhD in their subject.

One issue that keeps coming to light (at BYU) is the lack of overt preparedness students can expect when being challenged in a non-BYU environment. Specifically, take Erin’s degree (philosophy): Students at BYU are taught philosophy from a “here’s my testimony, lets see how this fits” perspective. As a result, when philosophical conversations take place, or conversations on things such as the nature of God, students tend to revert to their testimony as a defense against what they are uncomfortable with. Instead of finding out what they believe or why someone would suggest a different nature of God than what we learn in Sunday school (exploration, the hallmark of higher education, go figure), these students fall into the realm of comfort behind the church and their testimonies.

The outcome, especially in this arena, is that BYU students leave. They start grad school. And the outcome is that these kids are finally challenged in their beliefs, in their testimony, and in their education. The first and third are important. Instead of preparing students for the world, we prepare students to be great members of the church so long as they are not challenged.

We had a kid in the dreaded science class who commented that he’d read (or heard, or made up… you decide) that a lot of members of the church that go on to graduate work in Near Eastern Studies tend to leave the church. Incidentally, I was sitting next to a professor who is a specialist in that area and I asked, “Is that your experience?”

He said, “No.”

The conversation in that part of the room (two professors and me) ended up being about how the first principle of understanding academia and religious beliefs is to continue to be active even when you don’t want to be active. The outcome (testing your faith here) is that you will either come to an understanding and faith that will carry you through the graduate work; or you will succumb to the world and fall away.

I don’t doubt that many people don’t fall away.

However, many people become stronger members of the LDS church and stronger academics for being challenged and rising to the challenger.

We often (erroneously) believe that a mission makes the man (or woman) who is set to serve. That is not, entirely, untrue. However, I served around several young men (many years ago) who, (I believe) have fallen away from what they professed to believe. One of the issues, I think, needs to be dealt with is the way we prepare young people to be adults, the way we prepare testimonies and by extension the way we live our religion.

Preparing a place where young people can come where they are not challenged spiritually or, effectively, academically, makes them unprepared to go into the world. Unprepared to enter into marriage. Unprepared to be mothers and fathers. And unprepared to be leaders in the church.

If what I have been told, in the past, is true, BYU is a place where we train future leaders of the LDS church and future community leaders. However, if my experience at the “Y” is any indicator, we are not adequately preparing people to go out into the world. We don’t ask enough of these kids being matriculated (and not) through the university. Instead, we make it safe to be LDS without allowing professors and professionals to ask the hard questions.

The hard questions could be:

• Why do you believe what you believe?


• Why are you active in the church?


• Are there other examples of faith and true religion?

Okay, those questions don’t seem so hard. And yet, allowing a philosophy professor to proctor a class where one’s testimony is not sufficient evidence of right or wrong is important. Allowing that same professor to proctor that class without fear of The Church stepping in and asking whether or not that individual wishes to continue at BYU is even more important.

Allowing English majors to study literature, rather than a boiled down version of literature, is important.

Challenging students is a necessary part of education. In my (now two) years at BYU I have not felt sufficiently challenged in religion classes, in English classes, among the Philosophy professors I’ve gotten to know, in the history or science classes… the only place that required a ton of effort was, literally, the French class I bombed and need to figure out when to retake.

When a student makes it through four (or more) years of education and they do not have a sufficiently improved understanding of their own, personal, beliefs, then the academy (especially within the religious)

I am struggling just to struggle.

I don’t think I am a good example of life at BYU.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no standing on Evolution.

This does not mean that people do not have opinions on what evolution is or is not.

In the context of science, evolution is the adaptation of an organism to its environment. Within the context of an organism that adapts to its environment, we learned that environments have a tendency to adapt to the organism as well. One example of this may be chimpanzees and the nuts they collect to eat. The shells are thick (adapted to easy access by chimps), requiring chimps to, also, adapt to the shells by creating crude tools to break open the nuts. Another example is the Dodo in the southwest Pacific that would eat seeds with thick skins, the skins would wear away (enough) that when pooped out, they would germinate and grow another tree. Since the late 1600’s, there have been no new trees planted, growing, on the islands the Dodo’s inhabited.

What The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has said is that we don’t know. We do believe that Adam was the first man. We believe he was probably the first modern man. We believe that Adam is the perfection of God’s creation. However, in believing this, we do not say how God created the earth, the animals, or anything that is on the earth.

What science can show is that there is a history of man-like creatures on the earth for tens of thousands and millions of years longer than Adam (and Christian theology) would dictate they’ve been there. This means that the religious record (remember a religious history is often going to be different from a political history, and both are going to be different from a scientific history) does not agree with the scientific record of the world.

What all of this means is that God created the heavens and the Earth, placed plants and animals on it, separated the land from the sea, and then finished his creative process by placing the pinnacle of his creation upon the earth in the form of Adam and Eve.

How God went about creating the earth and all that is on it has not been described. When pressed, the leadership of the church has stated that they have no standing on the discussion and will not make a statement about whether or not evolution happened or how.

We were presented with some rather interesting information. First, the closest primate to man is not the chimpanzee, but rather a cousin of the chimp called the bonobo. The differences between man and chimp (though) are so close that with some inversion and an intentional separation of a single chromosome, man becomes chimp.

Further evidence shows that there is a distinct lineage between man and ape and that over millions of years, the cranium and ridges, as well as jaw (and chin) have adapted to become what man is today. All of this before Christian history would dictate that man, animal, or anything else existed on the earth.

What we do know is that there are a lot of evidences of life having existed long before 7000 years ago. 7000 years ago is the approximate age of modern man upon the planet and is determined through a religious belief and record where Adam is the first man, then Eve, and from those two, their progeny that have multiplied and filled the earth.

What caught my attention, today, was simply that it was possible for God to have created creatures, beings, upon the earth and to have allowed adaptation and evolution to take place. He was interested in the history and the creation, and as a result, watched until homo sapien man finally existed so he could step in. Once it was time for homo sapien, and the creative periods (not days, people) were through, then he perfected homo sapien and imbued within the creature the spirit child (Adam) waiting for a body. Until that time, the earth and creation was waiting for that moment.

At that point, I think, it was possible for God to separate perfected homo sapien from imperfect homo sapien as well as all other instances of his creations. Further, I would imagine that the 7000 (approximate) year old ancestors of most of the animals we know on this planet would have been separated as well. This was done within the Garden of Eden.

The rest of creation continued to exist; however, God’s perfected creation (Adam) was intentionally placed separately from all others of the creation. They were given the Garden of Eden and allowed to live. At that point a fall happened. Perfected homo sapien lost an aspect of his perfect and Adam was cast out of the garden.

Thus begins modern man.

What we don’t know, and what we may not know, is exactly how the creation went about. There are evidences that would suggest that a religiously stringent account of the creation is completely wrong. The evidence does not support a 7000 year old earth. I don’t believe that the earth is that young, though, the skeptical mind suggests that science in all her scientific glory, does not have an accurate estimate of the age of the earth or the age of many of the artifacts that we find. That does not mean that science is wrong or that I am right; merely that I was raised to be a skeptic and to ask questions.

I have a lot of questions that were not answered today; however, as I listened, for a moment, I could, briefly, see how creation might turn ape into man. I don’t believe that man and ape are the same, nor do I believe that you can get man from ape, but I do believe that there is a common ancestor between man and ape. I do believe that it is possible for God to have allowed for the creation of a world, seeded it with life, and then allowed that life to get to a point where it was possible to perfect the natural creation.

My current theory, if all the rest of this is true, is that the flood (theologically) was the finalizing moment of perfection (earth, not man) where pre-homo sapien. What this would effectively do is kill all pre-Adamic creatures on the earth, thereby making extinct all of the predecessors of perfected man.

Granted, there are people who will disagree with this. But, the point to all of this is: We Don't Know.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have a thing about shoes. Not that I have a lot of shoes. Well, I kind of do. I have several shoes, most of them are dedicated to hiking, walking, scuba diving, and the water. However, the shoes I buy are intentionally purchased for what they offer me. Most of what they offer me is arch support, but my thing with shoes is they have to be comfortable and practical.

As a result of this, I am pretty negative when I see girls walking around in high heels. The higher, the more negative I get. I really dislike girls who walk around in high heels when there is snow and ice on the ground. Especially when there is ice and snow on the ground.

The reason for the post, today, is that Erin went to school in a rather nice pair of boots. More along the lines of Mukluks, but nice looking. They appeared to be practical. And while walking up the hill to campus, it was dry (relatively) and I am sure, comfortable.

We went to class. After class (2 hours in the basement of the Martin Building) and when we come out, it is raining big fat drops of rain. As we walk, Erin’s shoe fills with water. I am thinking, “Thin leather mukluks,” and think little more about it. I could see they were completely wet, soaked.

After a minute, she lifted her heal to show me that she’d warn, in less than a year, a hole at the back of the mukluk. As we were walking downhill, and as it was raining, and as it was cold and the outsides of her mukluk’s were significantly wet, her feet we both wet and cold and she was miserable.

She said, “I am taking my shoes off when we get to the car.”

I encouraged that.

We got to the car. Got Erin inside. She took the mukluks off, and then we started driving home, complete with heater blowing on her feet. After a minute, Erin turned around and looked at the floor behind me and got all excited. Lo and behold, she had a pair of winter boots sitting there just waiting for her to realize she’d put them in the car.

Apparently, her mom has always had her carry extra shoes in the car, year round, as a result of Erin’s propensity to wear flip-flops, et. al. wherever she goes. Because the weather was getting cold, and because we’d decided to drive somewhere a week or so ago as it was getting cold and snowy, she’d placed the boots in the car complete with a dry pair of clean socks (clean is important).

The result, Erin had something dry to put her feet in so that she didn’t have to pad across the cement, or I didn’t have to carry her, when we got home.

Yay! Erin’s mom (and Erin for listening to her mom) for having shoes in the back of her car for situations just like this.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The other night, at 1:30 a.m., I found myself in a 24 hour pharmacy looking at humidifiers. The reason, Erin was not feeling well and her cough had gotten worse. On top of the humidifier (add moisture back into the air – dry, dry Utah) I bought some medicine to add to the humidifier that was meant to help alleviate the discomfort of coughing, which was the reason I’d gone out in the middle of the night to buy something like this. The pharmacy was the second store I’d been in.

When I got home, I filled the water container, added the medicine, and then plugged it all in. No steam. No visible stream of faze shifted water. And yet, at the least, we got to smell the menthol of the medicine added to the water in the air.

Last night, when I got home, Erin informed me (this was actually before I got home) that I didn’t add any salt, which meant that our water was lacking in minerals, which is why we didn’t see any steam. She read the instructions I didn't read... or read all of.

Allegedly.

Anyway, I got home, added some salt, and then watched and listened as the little steam engine hissed and spit out water. It was interesting. Erin threatened to kill the beast. For a while it sounded like there was a disagreement between Erin and the vaporizer (it would make noises, seemingly in response to things she said). And then we were both asleep.

Sometime between midnight and Erin says) 5 a.m. the vaporizer decided to start working as advertised and was ejecting nice plumes of steam into the atmosphere.

Needful to say, the house is permeated with a smell of menthol.

With all of that out of the way, and Erin resting as much as possible (and her kind of freaking out a little because she is not able to accomplish a lot), I think she is finally starting to feel better. This has been one interesting week. On a positive note, though, she is still not presenting for whooping cough, which is really nice. That means I don’t have to worry (still) about whether or not I have had it or have been inoculated against it (in the past).

Which reminds me, back in the day (almost ten years ago… now that I am thinking about it) I went to see a doctor to get tested for a bunch of things. He asked, “When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?”

I paused, trying to remember.

He said, “Well, it won’t hurt you to get another tetanus shot.” The next thing I new, he had a needle sticking out of my arm as he injected me with that shot.

Tetanus is good for (about) ten years, which is why I say it’s getting close. Truth told, I have about two more years to go where I can step on rusty nails and not worry (so much) about contracting tetanus.

Nasty tetanus.

As a result of all that, I didn’t get a lot done today.

We did watch a movie, Dragonfly with Kevin Costner as the protagonist. I think that Costner is an amazing actor who picks the dumbest movies to be in. I really mean that. He is a good actor, the majority of his movies are crap. However, in this one, Erin had seen this movie before and wanted to watch it with me. Since we have a Blockbuster.com membership which allows us to have three movies (at any given time) mailed to us, and since this was a movie she moved up in the queue (along with Unforgiven with Clint Eastwood), I watched it with her since she’s not feeling well.

And to think my day was going to be spent writing about how Alicia didn’t want to play a specific sport.

Anyway, the movie starts with Costner’s character, Joe, trying to get on a plane. At times he is speaking to his wife on the phone. Then she dies. It is sudden and the movie cuts to a church scene where we see a lot of people sitting in a congregation listening to a eulogy of Joe’s deceased wife.

The movie is kind of creepy. Things happen. Little kids share information with Joe. He is sent on chases and given cryptic information. And then, toward the end, he flies off to South America where his wife died.

I was actually a little impressed with the movie. I thought it might end differently, but really, the movie was kind of fun to watch. In contrast to what Costner normally chooses to do, via movies, this one seemed to work and was not a travesty of a choice (on his part) as others have been.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I went to the dreaded science class by myself today. Erin is still not feeling well. One theory, she has whooping cough. I don’t know whether or not that is true. She is not actually whooping, a sound made on inhalation not in the cough (apparently) but she is certainly up and down in the “under the weather” column.

However, and the reason I bring this up, is that I sat next to two of the three PhD’s in the dreaded science class today. This is a hoot, in case people needed or wanted to know. The third one was actually teaching the class. I was asked where Erin was.

I said, “She’s at home in bed.”

He said, “Is she sick?”

I said, “Yes. I thought she should sleep.”

He agreed.

When the topic jumped to what had Erin and we started talking about whooping cough and the fact that I didn’t seem to have the same malady, he said that it was possible I’d already had it or the inoculation I’d received as a child was still effective. I don’t know if either of those are true; but it, at the very least, sounded good. Regardless, it would appear that some days Erin is feeling better, on other days she is not feeling so hot.

It took her brother getting some serious antibiotics to get better.

I am holding out that this doesn’t get so bad… besides, he had it for, like, four weeks before the emergency room visit.

Anyway, there are many kinds of doctors… I am lying. There are only two kinds of doctors. The first is an MD. That stands for Medical Doctor or Doctor of Medicine. The other is a PhD or Doctor of Philosophy. If you follow an academic route as a career (e.g. PhD) you will become a Doctor of Philosophy. In essence, you will know a lot about the theory behind why things happen, though that theory may not (necessarily) translate into the practice of why things happen.

The MD is trained specifically to deal with real life medical emergencies, problems, and issues. In most cases the MD is not a scientific researcher.

A PhD in English is really the philosophy of English writings and rhetoric. This means they have studied the theories and philosophies of other PhD’s, over the years, on what and how they think writers have written their works. In essence, a PhD does a lot of guessing when it comes to what writer’s do. They know theory. They often don’t know practice.

This does not mean that people who are paid to teach writing don’t know how to write, merely that they fall into the trap of writing critically which does not translate into creative writing.

A PhD in Physics is a broad understanding of the theories associated with the subject physics. What this translates into is research into physical properties of things that translates into a practical knowledge of what happens in a lab (and possibly in the real world) with an increased understanding of what other theorists in physics have determined, but they are still theorists, philosophers, they may understand application, but that understanding comes (pretty strictly) through theory of application and not practical application.

Go back to writing. They can tell you why something works, and the theory behind it working, but they don’t (necessarily) have practical experience in making something work.

This is why, in academia, papers are written. You add, as a PhD, to the literature that exists in the world on the subject you are researching and studying. As an English PhD., you research and add to the literature.

Research. That is the key to the PhD. You research a lot.

Now, a Masters degree is a professional degree. This is why you can get a PhD without a Master’s. Yes. You heard me correctly. You don’t need a Master’s to go through a PhD. Different tracks.

However, you can teach with a Masters degree. You can teach at the college level with a Masters degree. And yes, you do have to have some working, and research, knowledge with a Masters degree. And yes, you are more likely to go on for that Philosophy of whatever degree. But it is not guaranteed.

A law degree is a Juris Doctorate. A Doctor of the Law. However, you are not qualified to practice law, merely to start learning how to practice law. You get theory of law, not real world application of law.

Theory.

What all of this equates to, in my world, is that the professor I was sitting next to knows a lot of theory about a lot of things. Most of the men in that room do. What is interesting, to me, is that they don’t necessarily know how to disseminate that theory in a useable way to the students in the class.

One of the professors speaking to me, today, has that as an issue in his teaching. He brings a lot of things into his lectures, but it’s a lot of … things, and not necessarily useful or necessary. The students in the class had a tendency to speak right over him when he taught.

What, I think, all of this means is that you shouldn’t go for a PhD unless you want to research, teach, and spend the rest of our life around prepubescent college students while you research, teach, and spend the rest of your life in academia.

Rant over.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In Order to Write (IOTW) was updated with Alicia Grey updates as well as a new article, blog entry. Go and check it out.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Winter has come. This is most evident by the cold nature of the apartment during the day. The reason the apartment is cold, Erin and I don’t control the thermostat. And, today, the kids upstairs weren’t around most of the day. Since I was alone for much of my awake time (Erin was sent home early from work due to a cough), I kept layering up so I didn’t get cold.

I didn’t write anything; though, I did start to see something (in my head) that might be useful for future writing projects. I will probably write about it, in the near future, on IOTW.

Getting out of bed was a little difficult for me today. Most of the reason, I think, was because I didn’t really sleep all that well last night. I would describe what was going on, but it would gross people out. As a result, let’s just say I am glad I had the time to continue sleeping.

On the work front, Jordan appears to be doing well. He took quite a few calls for someone starting out on the phones. I was impressed. I had someone (he sat with) tell me he would rock if he’d just learn how to spell domain names. But, on the flipside of that, I think we have a lot of people who are rather retarded when it comes to spelling here that asking, “How do you spell that?” is an appropriate question. I ask it on about 45% of all calls even if I am certain I know the spelling… in some cases, though, I get the chronic callers and you have their domains up before they even realize you’ve answered the phone.

Then you beat your head against a wall hoping to knock yourself out.

It’s fun.

To answer some of SouthernPeach’s questions (hi, Rebecca). No, we did not have Christmas music on. No, we did not bake cookies (uhm… can’t eat wheat… all common flours are wheat flour, though I did buy a cookie mix that I am anxious to try). Not a question, but… I don’t think Hobby Lobby has infiltrated Utah yet. And Erin has a tendency to clean things up as we go along.

Which reminds me, she sold the bed I have been using as a storage space for months. Yeah. You heard me. Came home, asked if I thought her brother would care. Then sold it. I pouted. She promised we could go and waste more money at
IKEA on Saturday for proper storage places for the things that (currently) sit under and on the bed her friend is buying. I was sad. Means I have to (actually) think about putting things in homes. I liked the homes they had, right now. However, the friend is moving to an unfurnished apartment and needs someplace to sleep. I’d’ve given her the (@#$%@#) air-mattress.

Anywho, her brother went to the doctor today, a follow-up to our all night (most of the night) visit to the ER a week or so ago. The doctor said he was getting better and then told Erin that if her cough lasted another week she probably had the same thing her brother had, which, it turns out, might’ve actually been an infection that required antibiotics. I guess, on top of that, as her brother was filling in the forms to see the doctor Erin decided to remind him that some information needed to be completely legible. The outcome, the doctor (sarcastically) said he could see how they were brother and sister.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

Posted by smokingpen at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, today is the 3rd of December. Erin's work party was today. We also purchased our first Christmas tree, together and a stand to go with it. We took my car so we could tie it to the roof and not have to worry about stuff.

The cool thing, to me, was that Erin stuck her hand out of the moon roof to make sure the tree didn't go too far back on the car. Her hand got cold. She used my walking gloves... not too thick, but still better than having nothing. I told her that next time we do something like this, I would have to remember to bring my skiing gloves rather than my walking gloves as the skiing ones are thicker than the walking ones.

I need to go skiing.

After class today we went to Michael's. The objective of this trip was to find a stand (we ended up getting it at Harmon's) before getting the tree and a tree topper. We decided on an angel with a red dress and a wreath.

On Saturday, Erin and I took some tools back to Jared's house. On the way up to Jared's (and Emily's) we stopped at IKEA. We pretty much stop at IKEA whenever we are up there and in need of candles or odds and ends. We bought a coupe of white elephant gifts for Erin's work party. We bought a candle (Erin really likes the candles from there, they tend to burn a long time; even though we got a four-whicker at Wal-Mart a few weeks back that is pretty nice) and this kind of cool grater thing that had two different graters and containers (complete with lids) that we really liked and ended up giving away.

Other than being sick for about a week (I hung the door last week in the wet and cold and got sick) and then Erin getting a little ill, things are what they are.

Erin started filming a movie she has for class, which means I started filming a movie for Erin's class. The final project. She asked a neighborhood girl to be the female lead in the movie. The girl came over Saturday morning and we filmed her around the apartment and then opposite Erin's brother down at The Riverwoods. On Sunday, we went over to her brother's apartment and did the rest of the filming. Quite a bit of the footage taken was actually done through iMovie on the Macbook. I discovered that the Macbook has a built-in camera and that I can start working toward having a video blog.

In case anyone was ever wondering, I want to do a video blog. Erin and I have talked, a little, about how I might go about accomplishing this. I am thinking of using a subdomain on one of my other sites as the location of the video blog. I am thinking of double posting to youtube and to my video blog.

Anyway, Erin ended up, this evening, with a new iPod Nano and, during a White Elephant exchange, I ended up with a wooden Buddha that is now sitting, peacefully, on a book shelf.

Along with the tree we ended up buying lights and stringing them on the tree as well as some ornaments we purchased (also at IKEA). Along with all of that, we put candy canes on the tree and the angel on the top